jdefran

Hey all, it is possible to be pulled over for your lighting system is deemed 'too bright'? With less daylight approaching, I am setting up my light system for riding in dark conditions..I am going to ensure I am visible from at least 1 mile away.

Feel free to discuss any experiences you may have with this.

RobertFrapples

As long as you are not brighter than 2 car (non-high beam) headlights plus two car fog lights, I think you will be okay. Good luck getting that bright.

mechBgon

If you ride on MUP paths, it may be an issue. In the city environment, not a problem. On open highways, try to be courteous and do unto others etc etc.

CliftonGK1

In the land of "bigger, faster, more" there is no such thing as too bright when it comes to your bicycle lights. If you've got the $$, you can throw dual B&M Big Bangs or Lupine Betty 1500s on there so you look like you stole your lighting off the tower posts at the local baseball stadium. There's no laws in the US (that I'm aware of) like the German StVZO standards for min/max intensity and cutoff focus for lighting design.

I run all cutoff focused lights on my bikes, with the exception of my L&M Solo 13W halogen which is a "see me" light by todays standards and my Supernova E3 which I installed a glare shield on to cut down on scatter.

I routinely see people using dual 600 or brighter lamps on their handlebars, plus another on their helmet.
Just to clarify: I don't endorse stupid bright blinding lamps. It's just that I don't know of any laws against them, and there are those people who will tell you that blinding bright is the only way to go to get people to see you. (which I think is bollocks.)

fietsbob

No.. just aim the light at the road in front of you, not into the trees..
[my most used: Schmidt E6 halogen, and SON dyno-hub]

the beam is directed, and so I just point it appropriately,at the road,
though, it does light up reflective signs quite a ways away.

bright helmet light when you direct your eyes and thus the light
at oncoming drivers, I think may be an issue.

nashcommguy

Overkill.

Just make sure you've got 1-200 feet of clear visibility w/a 1-3 LED back-up. A NR Mi-Newt 150 lamp/battery combo is plenty. 70.00 @ https://www.nashbar.com Or a Trailrat 2.0 10w Halogen. The Mi-Newt is what I run on my fg commuter and the TR is on my loaded 'mule' w/a 2 battery 'swap' system. You may need more power if you ride consistantly above 20 mph, but my commuting speed in between 15-17.

My TR batteries have been upgraded w/new 'innerds' by a guy in Texas I found on ebay. 3 hours of runtime now instead of 2.

jdefran

Just a figure of speech...I want to be visible.

I don't use MUP for my commute, just dark and unlit roads for the most part. My objective is to have good enough lighting to have clear visibility ahead of me while traveling 18-20 mph, and definitely be bright enough to catch road kill that may be in my path. I don't want stress the retina of drivers or be an obnoxious pain in the ass on my bike...just stand out and keep my space.

K'Tesh

After getting hit in daylight (right hook, while passing stop-and-go traffic) I'm now riding with a NR MiNewt 600 Cordless for my daytime commute (flashing). I opted for that so I could be seen in daylight, and still have my other rechargeable lights available for the evening return. At night I'm using the 600 a bit too, but I'm moving away from using it on the flash mode and feeling more often that the walk mode is enough for were I am. I've also got a NR MiNewt X2 that I use for night riding, but I'm now having a conflict with it's cord getting detached while I'm riding (bumps the 600's mount). Still looking for a solution to that issue.

nashcommguy

1) Sorry, I thought you were serious.

2) Me either. My roads are dark and quiet for the 1st 6.5 miles and busy thereafter, but still dark. My commute's 21 miles one way.

3) You may want to go to at least 15w Halogen at those speeds. My rig(s) works fine for me. Roadkill, obstacles and harrassing dogs are easily seen. As am I. So I've been told.

4) The NR Mi-Newt 150(there's a 250 version as well...brighter) has 3 different steady settings and a flashing mode. It's used on my fg w/a Sette Glo 3 LED backup. The TRs have no flashing mode so I use a Nashbar Brilliant HL and a Sette Glo as backups as both have flashing modes.

On the rear I use Sette blinkies that are the same as a PBSF, but cost 9.00 from https://www.pricepoint.com instead of 20+. Use 2 on each bike. They've got 3 settings. Also, on the multi-speed I use the NR Universal Taillight. It's designed to work w/t TR.

ItsJustMe

Not possible. It is possible to aim them badly and blind drivers, which isn't good.

However, you are competing with people driving SUVs with headlights that rival the lights at a football stadium. In those situations, it takes way more light to be seen than to see by.

I run my LED light on low when I'm on rural, unlit roads, but when I get to the city I kick it up to high and I probably should get another lighthead.

sggoodri

+1 on aim; a really bright lamp can be aimed to minimize hazards to others and a weak lamp can blind people temporarily if aimed toward their yes.

My 250 lumen LED lamp is about as bright as my old 15W halogen, but lasts much longer. I aim it down pretty low to see rocks and potholes but it still lights up the signs ahead of me.

RichardGlover

I think the Supernova E3 Triple might be too bright for road riding.

dcrowell

Not really. It's about the same brightness as the (now discontinued) Dinotte 600L. That was my primary commuting light before I moved into town and switched mostly to dimmer dyno-powered lights.

Riding in the rural and suburban areas, I'll take all the light I can get. In the city, a little less is needed.

ItsJustMe

I find the exact opposite. In rural areas, very little light is needed. In urban areas where there is lots of lighting, I want a ton of light because there's already plenty of distracting lights and glare and I need to stand out among all that.

In the country, even on my lowest setting I'm obvious from hundreds of meters away.

cyccommute 

A mile? Absolutely unnecessary. Cars don't throw a beam out a mile and they are traveling up to 4 times the speed you are thinking of traveling.

Good luck on getting a ~1" parabolic reflector to throw a beam that far given the current lumen level for LEDs as well. I have overvolted halogen lamps that throw out 1500 lumens per lamp and even those aren't visible from a mile away. I can illuminate reflective signs from 7 blocks away but that's not even close to a mile and the beam is very spread out by that point. A cone that has a height of 1 mile (5280') and a beam angle of 25 degrees covers an area of 6,110,000
sq ft. If you want to have a light flux of even 1 lumen per square foot at that distance, you'll have to have a light that puts out 6,110,000 lumen or the equivalent of 4070 car lights. You'd need a small nuclear plant to generate the power needed.

It would also be a huge waste of your light power. Aim the lights at the ground 2 to 4 carlengths in front of you. Even a 400 lumen light will give adequate illumination for 30 to 40 mph.

colleen c

I must be coming close to having too much light. I tried running 2000 OTF lumen on my helmet and another 3000 OTF lumen on my handlebar and I keep getting cars flashing their headlights at me even when I aim my lights down.

One time I tried running my BR IV on high on my handlebar and my 3 x XML light on my helmet on 800 lumen and had a LEO on the opposite side of the street turn on his spot light and flashed right at me several times. He then realise I was a cyclist and turn it off.

My 3 x XML light on my helmet running at 800 lumens is much more blinding than my Jetbeam BC40 XML at 700 to 800 lumen. From a distant, the single xml at high power looks light a very bright single point of light while the 3 x XML looks like one big huge bright spot light although it is running about the same light output as the single XML Jetbeam BC40.

no1mad 

I define 'dark conditions' as the absence of other light sources or very few and far between. And it is entirely possible to be seen from a mile away. Just don't expect to see that distance yourself.

Here's my (flawed?) logic on the being seen from a mile away. A light source can be detected at a greater range than said source can project a beam (usually). Take a flashlight and have some one hold it while you move away from it. Have them call out when you are no longer visible to them from the beam. Keep moving away a bit before turning back. You'll see that speck of light before you enter it's beam. Similar effect from street lights- you'll notice it before you get close enough to notice any shadows that it is creating from other objects.

buzzman

Am I the only one who has blinded while riding by an oncoming cyclist?

I'm all for being seen and lighting up the road/path at high speed but I see a lot of light kits set up in such a way to give the impression that the cyclist could give a *bleep* about anyone but themselves.

By all means get the wattage/lumens you think you need but PLEASE do be considerate of oncoming cyclists.

boatrider

I'd like to meet the cop that writes a ticket for a bicycle being too bright, and visit the court system that upholds the ticket. That being said, lights are not a bullet proof vest. One person here said they got hit during the day, so they got brighter lights. Faulty logic. On a bike, you'll never win against a car, so you have to be much, much more aware when you are in traffic. You can't just turn on the lights and be surprised when you get run over.

Rhodabike

If you're passing on the right, you're going to be in a drivers blind spot sooner or later, and a light won't help. When I lived in a larger city and rode through downtown, I pulled around and passed on the left if I needed to pass.

mechBgon

Personally, in city arterial traffic, I think lots of output really does help. Here, spot the cyclist:


Yeah yeah, trick question, there isn't one. However, as I was getting set up to shoot that video, a cyclist did come towards me with something along the lines of a 1-watt Planet Bike headlight. I still didn't notice him until he was quite close. And that's MY route home, I ride in his shoes daily as I gun for the center turn lane. If he'd been packing something like a Magicshine or better, I think I would've noticed him.

johnr783

I agree with those that said not to use literally blinding light. It can become a safety hazard when the driver of a 2+ ton vehicle cant see.

Personally, I use two headlights set to blink, 3 taillights set to blink and Bikeglow safety lights set to blink. Honestly, you should look into bikeglow. Those lights will increase your side visibility.

Cyclaholic

My rule of thumb when it comes to my bicycle headlight is simple.... so long as I'm not melting the asphalt in front of the bike then I don't have too much light.

cyccommute 

First, I've never been blinded by an oncoming cyclist on the road because it's almost impossible to be blinded by a light that is traveling parallel to you from nearly 30 feet away. It's the same reason that I don't worry about blinding motorists because while they aren't quite as far away from my light as an oncoming cyclists is, they are still further away from my lights then they are from an oncoming motorists headlights.

Second, I don't ride a lot of MUP at night because I don't want to blind bicyclists and/or pedestrians. The fact that the MUPs around me mostly close at dark and I'd rather not have explain what I'm doing on a closed path after dark. If you have problems being blinded on a MUP by other cyclists lights, don't ride MUPs at night.

If you have issues with bright lights, don't stare at them!

Finally, when I ride at night I am concerned about myself. That's why I use multiple rear flashers, multiple headlamps and ride so that I'm visible to the motorists around me. I'd rather risk being a bit rude to other road users and be safe than being polite and being squished.

Shimagnolo

I've had an annoyance with my Dinotte 600L gradually drifting its focus upward, and when it does that while on high beam, I've had motorists flash their lights at me. I recently tried putting some of that gritty CF assembly paste in the mount and I think that may have fixed it.